bind() function is not executing at all, no output when testing it - c

Question

I'm learning socket programming in C. I have gotten my server to create a socket that was successful, but when I try to bind my socket to a port nothing happens. No error occurs and it is not successful. It's as if the bind() function is not even executing at all.
I've checked out the documentation on the bind() function here but there's no mention of why it won't execute at all. I've also tried searching through this site with no avail.
I also tried following this tutorial from start to finish but the error (or lack thereof) still occurs.
Here is my full code leading up to the problem:
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include "include.h"
int main() {
// Descriptors. Used to check the status of functions such as socket, listen, bind etc.
// If a descriptor is equal to 0, then everything is okay. Else, if they are equal to -1, something went wrong.
int socketDescriptor, newSocketDescriptor = 1;
// The process ID of a child process (the client) when a new one is spawned (the client connects).
pid_t childPID;
// A string to hold the commands being sent a received.
char* commandBuffer = calloc(BUFFER_SIZE, sizeof(char));
// A structure to hold information on the server address.
struct sockaddr_in serverAddress;
memset(&serverAddress, '\0', sizeof(serverAddress));
// Fill in the server address information.
// Set the address family to AF_INET, which specifies we will be using IPv4.
// htons() takes the given int and converts it to the appropriate format. Used for port numbers.
// inet_addr() takes the given string and converts it to the appropriate format. Used for IP addresses.
serverAddress.sin_family = AF_INET;
serverAddress.sin_port = htons(PORT);
serverAddress.sin_addr.s_addr = inet_addr("127.0.0.1");
// A structure to hold information a client when a new one connects to this server.
struct sockaddr_in clientAddress;
memset(&clientAddress, '\0', sizeof(clientAddress));
// socklen_t defines the length of a socket structure. Need this for the accept() function.
socklen_t addressSize;
// Creating the socket.
// AF_NET specifies that we will be using IPv4 addressing.
// SOCK_STREAM specifies that we will be using TCP to communicate.
socketDescriptor = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
if (socketDescriptor < 0) {
perror("ERROR CREATING SOCKET");
exit(1);
}
else
printf("Socket created successfully.\n");
// Binding to the specified port. 0 if everything is fine, -1 if there was an error.
if (bind(socketDescriptor, (struct sockaddr*) & serverAddress, sizeof(struct sockaddr_in)) < 0) {
perror("ERROR BINDNING");
exit(1);
}
else
printf("Socket bound to %s:%s.\n", serverAddress.sin_addr.s_addr, serverAddress.sin_port);
The last if statement at the bottom is where the code fails. It should either print and error or print "Socket bound to 127.0.0.1:80" but neither happens. See an example here.
I'm lost for what to do.

Answer 1

A server socket won't show up in a netstat listing unless you call listen after binding the socket.
Also, you're using the %s format specifier in your printf after the bind call on serverAddress.sin_addr.s_addr and serverAddress.sin_port. These are not strings but integers. Using the wrong format specifier invokes undefined behavior and is likely causing your program to crash. Using the correct format specifier such as %d or %x will fix this.
if (bind(socketDescriptor, (struct sockaddr*)&serverAddress, sizeof(struct sockaddr_in)) < 0) {
perror("ERROR BINDNING");
exit(1);
}
else
// use %x to print instead
printf("Socket bound to %x:%x.\n", serverAddress.sin_addr.s_addr, serverAddress.sin_port);
if (listen(socketDescriptor, 3) < 0) {
perror("listen failed");
} else {
printf("socket is listening\n");
}